Reinventing Public Personnel Administration as Strategic Human Resource Management

Klingner, Donald E.

doi:10.1177/009102609302200406

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…However, the public-sector people management function has been described as reactive, with an emphasis on operational activities (Coggburn, 2001;Klingner, 1993;Mesch, Perry, & Wise, 1995). The end result frequently is a situation where HRM wants to play a more strategic role, and sometimes think they do, but often are considered contributors only at an operational level by line managers (cf.…”

Section: The Effectiveness Of Public-sector Hr Departmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A strategic approach to HRM has a "pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable a firm to achieve its goals" (Wright & McMahan, 1992, p. 298). When managed effectively, the HR department adds value by ensuring that it has the characteristics of a strategic resource (Barney & Wright, 1998).Many public-sector HR departments have been urged to be effective by integrating with strategic management (Klingner, 1993;Perry, 1993; U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM], 1999;Walters & Thompson, 2005). However, the public-sector people management function has been described as reactive, with an emphasis on operational activities (Coggburn, 2001;Klingner, 1993;Mesch, Perry, & Wise, 1995).…”

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confidence: 99%

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To be strategic in the new public sector, HR must remember its operational activities

Teo

Rodwell

2007

Human Resource Management

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H Hu um ma an n R Re es so ou ur rc ce e M Ma an na ag ge em me en nt t, , Summer 2007, Vol. 46, No. 2, Pp. 265-284 © practices and policies between public-sector organizations and private companies in many countries across the world (Budhwar & Boyne, 2004, Rodwell & Teo, 2004. Therefore, the current study contributes to this body of literature by examining the involvement of HR departments in commercialized and noncommercialized public-sector entities and their perceived level of performance by senior line managers, a key stakeholder of the HRM function. More specifically, this article tests a model of the effect of the transfer of HR activities to line management on the strategic influence and performance of the HR department.The next sections of this article explore the public-sector HR function, the pressures to be strategic about HRM, and the forces toward the transfer of HR to line management. Moving toward strategic HRM usually implies the strategic integration of HR, with the end result that all of these factors drive perceptions of the HR function's performance. The remaining sections then review the methods and the results. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed by considering the status and influence of HR departments and their relationship with line management in the process of strategic decision making. Commercialization: A Context of Change for HRM DepartmentsFrom the mid-1980s, a reform movement to change public-sector management practices has grown in many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries (Hood, 1995). This reform movement emphasizes issues of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in public services and is often known as new public management (Lonti & Verma, 2003). The elements of NPM underpin much of the move toward commercialization of the public sector. Growing evidence of the impact of the push toward NPM includes many changes to organizational structures, systems, and processes, such as restructuring, performance auditing, and privatization of state-owned entities (Osborne & Gaebler, 1992). Examples of commercialized public-sector entities include organizations, such as utilities, that are owned by the government yet operate as strategically independent entities. In many cases, these commercialized public-sector entities operate as if they had been privatized even though they are government-owned.Historically, personnel systems in the public sector have been highly regulated due to a preoccupation with eliminating corruption and partisan abuses (Coggburn, 2001). Under NPM, the management of people, resources, and programs in order to achieve results and outcomes replaces the administration of activities, procedures, and regulations (Lonti & Verma, 2003). Subsequently, NPM has profound implications for HRM in the public sector, including demands to become more flexible and responsive to the needs of line managers (Hays & Kearney, 2001). These newly structured public-sector agencies often adopt new HR strategies (such as t...

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Section: The Effectiveness Of Public-sector Hr Departmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

To be strategic in the new public sector, HR must remember its operational activities

Teo

Rodwell

2007

Human Resource Management

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“…With a greater degree of openness to their environment, coupled with higher levels of public scrutiny and monitoring, public organizations have a much broader range of stakeholders than their private sector counterparts (Ring and Perry 1985). C compared with the more limited number of stable goals that exist for private sector firms, these bring a multiplicity of objectives and priorities (Ring and Perry 1985; Klingner 1993; Harris 2004). This creates a complex and qualitatively different working environment for public managers, where top‐down, strategic and linear planning processes, whether in general management or HRM, may be less appropriate than more incremental, emergent approaches that allow for adaptability and the ability to manage discontinuity (Ring and Perry 1985; Harris 2004).…”

Section: The Role Of Human Resource Management In the Public Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuity and Change: The Role of the Hr Function in the Modern Public Sector

Truss¹

2008

Public Administration

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As the public sector has modernised and sought to become more efficient and cost-effective, the effective and strategic management of people has received increasing prominence and there have been calls for the HR function to play a more strategic role. However, not much is known about whether the role of the HR function has changed substantively. In this paper, we present empirical evidence from six matched-pair public sector organisations in the UK to assess whether HR functional roles have changed, as envisaged, into a model more akin to the private sector. The findings highlight the complex and often contradictory nature of HR functional roles, and suggest that new and more strategic roles have not replaced traditional approaches but, rather, have been grafted on, giving rise to a variety of hybrid HR forms.

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“…These bring a multiplicity of objectives and priorities, compared with the more limited number of stable goals that exist for private sector firms (Harris, 2004;Klingner, 1993;Ring and Perry, 1985). This creates a complex and qualitatively different working environment for public managers, where top-down, strategic and linear planning processes, whether in general management or HRM, may be less appropriate than more incremental, emergent approaches that allow for adaptability and the ability to manage discontinuity (Harris, 2004;Ring and Perry, 1985).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Oswick and Grant (1996) go so far as to argue that ongoing public sector reforms are actually challenging the power of personnel specialists rather than strengthening it through a focus on cost control that reframes the HR function as an overhead to be cut. Klingner (1993) reflects that HR's traditional role in the public sector of balancing the competing values of efficiency and responsiveness with individual rights and social equity is shifting towards a primary focus on cost and accountability under strategic HRM. However, it has also been argued that traditional public sector values continue to impact on the role and activities of the HR function, and that demonstrable fairness in the treatment of employees and the notion of the 'good employer' remain critical, alongside strategic pressures (Farnham et al, 2003;Harris, 2002;Boyne et al, 1999).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%